


Can Sand Talk?

by Snowy181



Category: Original Work
Genre: Child Abuse, Fantasy, Fiction, Gen, Magic, Mute - Freeform, Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-24 16:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30075054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowy181/pseuds/Snowy181
Summary: A mute child tries to live in a world that is unwelcoming towards him. Would he be able to find his voice?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is kind of like a spin-off from my other story Freeze! You don't need to read it to understand. I've currently written 6 chapters but it's on hiatus indefinitely until I've written other books.

_ Silence. _

I wake up in a bleak white room of a hospital. Bandages like tentacles wrap around my head, too hard for my liking. But whenever I try to complain, nothing comes out of my mouth. No sound, only air. I wrestle with it, struggling to make it looser. A lady in white takes my hands away from it, telling me to leave it alone. I sigh and do as I am told.

I look around the room. But my parents are nowhere in sight. I breathe a breath of relief. I wonder where they are… I can't remember what happened before I was placed here.

That doesn't really matter right now. What does is why I have no voice. Am I sick? Maybe it'll come back later. I've lost my voice before, that would make sense. I'm just sick. I reason with myself but for some reason, something doesn't sit right with me.

The lady watches me with kind eyes. She places a hand on my head and looks at me, "you seem energetic. There's a park close to here, do you want to go there later?" She asks.

I try to reply but nothing comes out. I resort to nodding my head. She looks at me worriedly then excuses herself. 

I fiddle around with the bedsheets and glance at the outside world through a window. It's hard to see outside from where I am so I slip out of bed and move closer. I'm too short to see out even on my tippy toes. But what I can see is the blue sky with a few clouds drifting about. I wonder what it's like to fly and be free from restraints. I'm sure up there, no hands nor screams of my parents can be heard. I reach my hand towards it and my imagination flies through the roof.

The door is opened and another lady from before enters. I walk closer to the bed so it is between me and her. She gives me a friendly smile. “I’m going to need to ask you a few questions if that’s alright with you?”

I nod timidly.

“Come sit here,” she pats on the bed while she grabs herself a chair. I oblige and play with my clothes while she looks at some paper in her hand. “Can you tell me your name?”

I open my mouth but no sound comes out.

“What’s your favourite colour?”

I try to speak but still nothing.

“Hm…” she glances at the paper. “Stay here for a bit,” she stands up and briskly walks out.

I face plant into the pillow beside me. I attempt to say something, anything. I try to scream my frustrations into the pillow. Still nothing, not even a peep. Everything will become better. I’ll have my voice back, I just need to wait a bit. I can’t rush it. I’m just sick. Just sick… .

The door opens again and I sit up. People wearing weird dark clothes come in with the two ladies from before. They have a giant badge on their chest and the words ‘POLICE’ are labelled on the sleeves of their shirt. Some wear nice smiles while others don’t. 

“Hello,” a man says. He approaches the chair and makes himself comfy on it. “I’m going to ask some questions and I need you to answer them,” I stare at him like he’s a dummy. “Here,” he hands me a whiteboard and marker. That’s a bit better, though I hope they can read well. 

I settle myself onto the bed more. I move the pillow so it leans onto the bedhead and wiggle under the blanket. “Ready?”

I nod at him, plucking the lid off the marker.

“Do you remember what happened before you got here?”

I tap the end of the marker against my chin while I think. 

I finished school… then I walked home. Mum and Dad were sitting on the couch, drinking. That’s normal, then what else? I try to creep up the stairs, I usually make it up to the top, but this time the stairs betrayed me. It creaked and my parents discovered that I made it home. Then… I don’t remember much, I think deeper. Something happened. Shouting. Something smashing. On the floor? No, on my head. A bottle. Red. It dripped everywhere. Down my head and soaked into my shirt. I remember struggling to call for help… black spots slowly filled my vision. I had to use the last bit of my strength to drag these monsters down with me. Red sand flew from outside, through the window. Their screams are drowned out by the many small solids. Then silence. I fall to my knees then the rest of my body comes tumbling down with it. The weapon of murder crumple with me. All goes black.

…

I stare thoughtfully at the empty, blank whiteboard. I write in big words ' _ NO _ ' and show it to the man. He stares at it for a bit. 

He breathes in deeply, he looks down at his hands, "your parents… they have gone somewhere and… and they aren't coming back," he slowly glances into my eyes.

I don't say anything, it's not like I could either way.

He sighs heavily and stares at the second lady in white. They switch spots. The lady holds my hand and makes me gaze into her eyes. "You… you're most likely not going to be able to speak anymore…" that grabs my attention. 

I peer at her with wide eyes and point at me. 

She nods.

I grab the whiteboard and struggle to find the letters, ‘ _ FouReva? _ ’ I show it to her.

She grimly signals yes.

I can wrap my head around my parents' death but not this. She must be joking. This is a joke, right? I’m just a bit sick. She isn’t a good doctor, that’s all. Just a misunderstanding. It’ll come back. Maybe not now but later. Yes, that  _ must _ be it. I can’t be quiet forever.

The people in the room watch my reaction. Some uncomfortably shift around while others are still like lifeless statues. One of the officer’s coughs interrupts my thoughts. I gaze at him, clutching the bedsheets as though it is the only thing anchoring me, chaining me, to reality. The  _ cruel _ ,  _ sick _ reality. My knuckles begin to feel tired and sore. They turn white from my grip. “Are you sure you know nothing about your parents’ death-” he asks but is quickly shushed by his colleague.

When did the room become so cold and empty? 

The blanket keeps my heat trapped underneath it. The sun basks the room in a warm glow. The people in the room accompany me through my pain by being silent. Letting me grieve for my parents, or so it seems to them, and my lost voice.

I slowly move to lie down. I bury my face into the pillow, now laying flat on the bed. I tuck on the blanket so it is shielding me from the vicious world around me. I hear a few sets of footsteps, I don’t need to look at who when the door opens then shuts gently. It’s not like it matters anyway. They haven’t experienced the things that  _ I _ have. They don’t know the pain and they don’t understand.

I cry and cry. The pillow soaking up all my tears and soundless screams. There is no one to comfort me. There is no one who cares about me. At least when my parents were alive, they acknowledged my existence, regardless of the pain and suffering it brought.

Now I’m alone. Even my voice has left me. 

What good is there to live as a voiceless child in a system that is vicious and pointless?


	2. Chapter 2

After my parents died, I have gone to live in an orphanage. The first day is hard, and so is the second, then third and fourth. It’s like living in an endless cycle with no end. Years crawl by painstakingly slowly as though they, too, have given up.

I exit school in no hurry, it’s not like anyone is waiting eagerly for me back home. A car pulls up beside me. I ignore it and continue my journey. I hear doors open and close, it puts me on edge but I continue to disregard it. People go in and out of cars all the time, though I have a bad feeling about this one. I turn my head to see a lady and a man staring at me. She puts on a false smile and waves me over.

I run.

Flinging my bag onto the ground, I run as fast as I could. Away from the pair. Away from the foreboding feeling they bring.

I don’t move too far before hands place themselves onto my face with a towel over my nose and mouth. It stings when I breathe. I struggle like a dying cat. Scratching, kicking and everything that I could possibly do. But I’m a child going against a grown man. I can’t cry nor can I scream. 

My vision begins to be filled with black spots that soon expand and take over everything. I fall limb.

\---

My head hurts and my eyes refuse to listen to what I want. My back lies against a hard wall and my hands are bound by chains that attach to the wall. I hear more thuds somewhere in front of me and the sound of the movement of metal echoes throughout the room. Footsteps come and go but I cannot see who.

I finally gain control of my eyelids and force them open. I’m stuck in a room that can fit about ten of my bedrooms though it’s not saying very much since the people at the orphanage enjoy shoving kids into a tiny room like a can of sardines.

I can see a bunch of people though they seem to be sleeping. They’re old. Maybe teenagers. Probably jerks. They, too, are bound to another wall, nearest to me. Two of them lie on a long table. Are they going to be eaten? Am I next? 

I tuck and pull against the chains to move as far as possible from the wall when I realise that it is my newest worst enemy. I try to remove the binds from my wrist. My hands are not small enough, which is something I’m not accustomed to. I grow tired and stop to take a breather. I glare at everything and everyone even though no one can see me doing so.

Some of the people slowly wake. Chains move when they stretch. One of the two conscious girls realise what’s going on and dart her head around while rapidly poking the one next to her. She has really purple hair and purple... _ everything _ while the one next to her wears a giant blue jacket among other unusual blue clothing choices. One of the black-haired boys is awake too, he has red eyes and they land on me.

Oh no.

I curl up into a ball and hope that he isn’t looking at me. I glance up and see that he is pointing at me, causing the other two to watch me. Red Eyes and Purple wrestle with the shackles and have as much luck as me. Blue Jacket doesn’t bother and continues to stare at me. She’s creepy, I can only see her one pitch-black eye, the rest of her face is covered. I turn my gaze to somewhere else while she is jabbed in the ribs, “you’re scaring him!” Purple hisses. The room falls back to silence until she started to talk again, "What are we going to do?"

"Wait for everyone else to wake?" Red Eyes offers.

“Okay then.”

I make myself as cozy as possible when trapped. I shut my eyes.  _ At least I’m not surrounded by loud kids _ , I tell myself. Everything will be fine. Everything will be fine.

Time passes, but how long, I do not know. Hours? Minutes? The people wake up one by one. Some are still asleep when the door opens. The teens and I look up and see two more teenagers, one with white hair and eyes and another with brown hair and blue eyes. They approach those who are by the wall after glancing at the two, who are still unconscious, on the table.

The two opposing groups bicker with each other, though it’s more like the brown-haired guy mocking them. The other guy seems to have a guilt-filled face, he shifts side to side and his eyes dash around the place but never nearing people, he’s like those kids who don’t make eye contact with the teacher in case they are chosen. He abruptly leaves, using the excuse of needing fresh air. Brown-haired Evil Guy doesn’t seem to care.

Evil Guy has noticed me in the corner. He peers at me with cold blue eyes like a lion playing with its prey. He smiles, “so you’re the one that Mother and Father dragged in,” he pulls at my hair despite my struggles against him. “What’s your name?”

I don’t say anything and attempt to swat his hands away.

“Hey, back off already!” one of the girls shouts at him. He rolls his eyes and stands up. He goes to approach her when one of the table food wakes. She has white hair while the other has red. “Winter?” she turns to the side. “Are you feeling okay?”

The door opens before this 'Winter' could reply, White Hair stands in its wake. “Good morning, sleeping beauty!” Evil Guy greets her.

The group yaks and yaks, on and on. Evil Guy enjoys taunting and hurting. He goes up to me, I stare up at him while he bends down. “Are you going to speak?”

I shake my head and hands, trying to indicate that I  _ can’t _ speak.

“I said speak!” 

I jump and bury my head into my knees. I want to be as small as possible and hope the scary lion would leave me alone.

“Leave him alone! He’s just a child!” Purple shouts. Why would it matter if I’m a child? Everyone else does it. Flashes of people’s angry, contorted faces appear in my head, my parents, teachers, bullies, roommates, the caregivers in the orphanage. What makes them so special to yell at me but not this guy? Or is it because this guy is a special one?

“Tch,” he moves away from me and tells White Hair to have fun. He storms out of the room.

Okay, don’t cry, everything is  _ fine _ . I bury my head deeper into my knees and cover my ears with my hands. The people hold conversations with each other but I don’t care what they are saying. There’s more begging, more yelling and more individuals coming and going.

“What is going on!?” a man’s voice cries before a thud comes from his direction.

“Better than death,” Purple comes and slices off the chains and tries to pick me up. I frail around in her arms and pathetically wack her face, hoping she would receive the memo. She does and stops. I crouch in my safe corner and watch the teens with suspicion.

The group is contemplating how to escape. White Hair leaves to get some things called  _ pendants  _ while Evil Guy is tied up and shoved into another corner.  _ Pendants _ , I think those are the things that make people extra scary since they receive magic powers. I’ve tried to see if I secretly -to the point where I have no knowledge of its existence- have one on me at all times but I can’t find one. 

Then we wait.

Red Eyes comes up to me and tries to entertain me. I’m not interested but if it makes  _ him _ happy then all is fine. After all, a satisfied person is a non-violent person, usually. While playing with him, I always feel eyes on me. When I look around, I only see an eye peering at me from the opposite side of the room.

The door opens and more people come in. The pair of kidnappers, White Hair and two other people. They all begin to fight. Eventually, the male kidnapper holds a dagger to White Hair’s neck. I move closer to see. Maybe I can help? I'm here for one reason only, after all. I focus on any sand that may be around. I feel some and tuck on it. Trying to pull it closer to help us. While I’m doing that, Winter picks me up. I don’t struggle, I can’t lose concentration. 

I feel the sand coming closer and closer.

Blue Jacket and Purple attack the kidnapper and save White Hair in the process. Sand comes blasting through before anything more can be done. I proudly clap at the sand as it gobbles up the kidnappers like a hungry monster. I glance up and see Winter looking down at me. She’s not going to hurt me, is she? She places me down and the fight continues.

I make the sand eat all the bad guys up. "Oo, eat this guy too!" Blue Jacket tells me, dragging Evil Guy over. I gleefully do as I am told, who wouldn't like a bit of revenge? She picks me up, "you are such a good boy," I settle closer to her chest. I think I like being praised. She and Purple begin an argument on encouraging violence. I don't think I'm violent or bad. They hurt me first so they deserve it.

"Do you mind?" Purple asks, indicating the sand.

"I didn't do that,"

"But he did,"

Blue Jacket gazes down at me.

.

.

.

"Adaleyna! Help!" she starts carelessly swinging me around, "there's a small, little creature in my arms!" I'm going to be sick. "What do I do? How did he get here? He's going to die!" _We're all going to die!_ I huff internally.

"You picked him up!" Purple -or Adaleyna as she has been called- rushes over and snatches me from her grasp. 

I sigh a breath of relief.

"I didn't do that!" Blue Jacket shouts back.

Adaleyna sighs, "can you make this stop being… this?" she asks me. I nod and the sand tumbles into a pile.

"Quick! Capture them!" a guy orders. All the baddies are dragged out and tied up. The group discusses what we should do next. We decide that Blue Jacket should ‘deal’ with them ‘without a trace’ left behind. She goes and leaves with all the kidnappers while the rest of us go to find their pendants. We then go out of the basement and out into a wide, spacious backyard. 

A column has become wrecked due to what I did. Sand, that I did not grab hold of, litter the area of the destruction.

I'm lifted out of Adaleyna's arms and into Blue Jacket's. I grip onto her clothes while hoping and praying. I still have a future ahead of me, please don't let it end now… . First, she pats me then she rocks her arm while cradling me. I haven't been treated like this in a long time. "I'm gonna go now, have fun!" she waves at her group and walks around with me.

"Now what should I do with you?" she mutters to herself. I tense up. She gently drags a hand through my hair. "Um," she stops in her steps. We're now down the streets from the house. Nobody in sight with the occasional car that whizzes pass. This is bad. I can't scream for help. "It's okay, little one, I won't hurt you. At least, not purposefully. But, like, children are pretty weak, so…" she shrugs and expects me to understand. I stare at her incredulously. She looks down and her one visible eye crinkles slightly. I reach up and push the strain of blue hair that covers her left eye, it's weird-looking underneath. The way that eye gazes at me makes me shift uncomfortably. I remove my hand and the hair falls back. I wonder what's under her scarf. I pull it down. It seems to be normal. I poke her lips, they feel normal.

Then she smiles.

I quickly retract my hand back. Now I see why she covers it. She moves the scarf back to its original place. "Where are you from?"

…

"Is there a place where lost kids go?"

…

"Hm…" she sighs. Her chest moves up bringing my head with it and then it falls back down. I close my eyes and lay in a more comfortable position in her arms. My hands still hold onto her but more loosely. My ear is against where her heart is.

But I hear no beats.

We wander into town. Sometimes we turn a street and again and again until we're walking down the same one. She twists her head around. As though expecting something to come to her. "... do you know where we are?" she looks around while she waits for me to answer. I shake my head. "Welp, this is a problem,"

"There's like people you go to when there's trouble, right?" she pipes up after a while of walking. We've repeated 2 streets since she last talked. "What were they called again? Caps? Pole lease?" I don't know how to respond. I attempt to mimic using a phone since Adaleyna at least knows what she's doing half the time. 

It doesn't work.

"You're hungry? Thirsty?" she stares at me more. "I don't understand, what do you want?" I try once more. "Are you going to die if I don't figure out whatever it is that you need?" I start to shake my head, wait. I then rapidly nod my head.  _ Yes, I will die! I'm going to starve and die alone! _ I grumpily think. "So dramatic, is it boredom? Here," she shoves a teddy bear into my arms, “play with him, or something,”

“I’m not a play toy!” it shouts.

“Hang tight, we’re going to try another way.”

Is she talking to- She silently sprints down the street, gaining speed over time and rapidly turning from one block to another. I cling to her while the bear holds onto me. I’m really going to die. She abruptly stops running, causing me to nearly fall out of her arms. I breathe heavily despite not being the one moving. She turns back and jogs to a building.

“Police,” she reads out loud, “hm… it’s similar but not-”

I rapidly nod at her and point at the door.  _ I want to go home. Please have some mercy for me,  _ I beg.

She shakes her head and laughs slightly. She opens the door. 

Inside is a clean front desk. Everything is organised and neat. There are people sitting on chairs, anxiously fiddling with whatever is on them. A man sits on a chair by the desk, talking on the phone, sounding nonchalant. A few indoor plants are scattered around.

She approaches the desk. The man shoots her a weird glance but continues talking, signalling that he’ll be there in a moment. So she stands there, eyes dashing from corner to corner and jumping from one face to another. I shift about trying to remove myself from her. She slowly turns towards me, I point down. She stares. I huff and drop the bear down and point to it. She continues to stare.

“Put him down,” the bear orders, “and pick  _ me _ up!” it stands and jumps with its arms flailing around. The man frowns at her. She bends down like an old granny and trades the bear for me. The bear is then shoved into her blue bag that hangs by her side. She pays no attention to the teddy’s cries of complaint.

The man coughs into his hand, expecting us to acknowledge his existence. At least  _ I  _ try to, I’m too short to see him from my position right in front of the desk and she doesn’t bother to focus on him. “So…?” he peers down at me by standing slightly.

“Oh,” she turns her head to him like he appeared out of thin air. “Are you missing any kids?”

“Of that description?” he points to me.

“Yes,”

“No, nothing from what I’ve heard,”

Seriously? The orphanage can’t even keep count of their kids! I imagine myself shaking the carers' necks. Shouting at them to be more thoughtful. But in the _real_ world... I look at the ground, shuffling my feet.

“What’s his name?” he asks.

“I have no clue,” he gives her a face again. “He doesn’t talk,” she shrugs, “you can try if you want,” 

“Hello, kid, what’s your name. You can tell me, I’m not a…” his eyes run over Blue Jacket’s appearance. He doesn’t finish but still expects me to answer. 

I indicate that I can’t talk. He slightly understands me.

“Anyways-” his head snaps to her, she continues, “are there any orphanages that may be around here?”

"There is-"

"Great, where?"

"But-"

"Nevermind, you're not going to be helpful,"

"Liste-"

"Come on, let's go!" she picks me up and leaves a frustrated desk worker behind.

"Wait-" and we're gone.

She treks through the street, turning her head, “Maybe you should lead the way,” I look around, trying to find something recognisable. The sun is slowly going to bed. The sky is painted orange on top of blue. Fluffy clouds fly at a snail’s pace through it. The streets are still empty of life. Lamp lights flicker on as the sky darkens to night.

Soon we stumble onto a familiar block that holds the school. I point to where I want her to go. She jogs carefully with me in her arms. 

The orphanage comes into view. Lights are still on the inside. I would have thought that  _ some  _ fuss would have been made of my disappearance but  _ no _ . “Is that the place?” 

I nod in response.

“Hooray." 

We approach the gate of the place. It creaks open when she pushes on it. The area near the fence is full of overgrown weeds, too hard to mow properly. A gravel path leads the way to the front entrance though it’s too dark to see in the night. The only light and sound coming from the orphanage. 

_ Knock, knock, knock _ .

The door swings open, standing in its wake is one of the caretakers. His eyebrows frown at the sight of an almost completely hidden face, his eyes slowly trail down to me. They then dart up and down, my face to her face. Clearly trying to figure out how I ended up in the arms of a stranger. His smile melts onto his face. “Hello…” he hesitates.

“Are you missing a child?” she holds me under the armpits to show him.

“Apparently...”

“You didn’t realise?”

“Well no. He’s always wandering around,”

“Aha…” she eyes him with narrowed eyes.

“Are you thinking about adopting him?”

“No.”

She retracts her arms and cuddles me. “Well, I guess this is goodbye.” Her eye crinkles again, “be more careful next time, yeah?” she gently places me onto the ground and ushers me forward.

I enter the door and turn around to see her figure retreating into the darkness. I wave silently at her back. She spins the top half of her torso and waves back. I’m dragged inside and the door slams shut. 

I receive a lecture from the caretaker and I’m sent to bed early without dinner. I haven’t realised how hungry I’ve been until he mentioned it. I sulk in bed while I hear kids running around the corridor. My stomach feels empty but there’s nothing I can do. I imagine eating yummy food like cake and ice cream. When kids run pass again, I’m pulled out of my false reality and become hungrier. I sigh to myself. I try to position myself as comfortably as possible and drift to sleep. But sleep is a long time coming with all the noisy, screaming children of my age. 

I miss the freedom I had. I should have enjoyed it more.


	3. Chapter 3

I can’t take it anymore!

Trash is littered everywhere on the ground and on me, more fall out when I crawl out of the fallen bin. The sound of laughter slowly fades into silence. Tears roll down my face and my clenched fists shake. Nobody is around and nobody has helped. 

I’m alone.

No one wants to hang out with me, who would though? Eyes merely glaze over me as though I am nothing but a speck of dust. Teachers barely acknowledge my existence even during roll call. I’m not called on to do anything, even if it’s simple demonstrations.

No one wants me.

Minutes slowly drift by while I sit by the lying trash bin, crying cries that no one will ever hear. I feel lighter when I walk out of the school. Instead of turning left like usual, I go right. The streets still have people around, mainly kids waiting for their parents. I lower my head and rush by, acting as inconspicuous as possible. The kids ignore me, choosing to be on their phones or talking to their friends. 

I breathe a sigh of relief when I’m further away. What should I do now? I don’t have any money. The park tends to be where bullies lurk. Hm… .

I walk past a section that exposes trees together like a bundle of sticks. The way they rustle and sway elegantly in the wind. Nothing but the sound of happy chirps and leaves moving. I take a step to it, then another and another. Soon, I’m wandering around trees that are thousands-of-me-sized. Everything is overgrown and sprawled around like tentacles trying to reach me. I keep my hands as close to me as possible and far from exposed bark that may carry hidden insects.

Soon I stumble upon a clearing in the trees, a stream of water is rushing through like horses viciously racing to arrive at the finish line. The rocks and gravel underneath my shoes go crunch, crunch, crunch but it’s barely audible over the sound of the roaring river. I sit down and stare at it but shuffle back every time water hits me.

“What do we have here?” a voice asks behind me. 

I jump and turn to see a familiar lady.

“Oo, hey! It’s you!” she runs, picks me up and squishes me against her chest like a teddy bear. Her long purple hair freely drapes over her face like curtains blowing in the wind and tickles my forehead. I move my arms up and down in an attempt to free them but they are glued to my sides.

“You’re killing him,” another voice says from behind Adaleyna.

“Don’t be so pessimistic!” she responds. 

Out of the bushes comes a girl cloaked in blue with a face that barely allows the sun's hands to touch. She eyes the river behind me like a tsunami about to swallow her whole. Adaleyna walks backwards then harshly jabs her in the ribs but she doesn’t respond.

Adaleyna sighs, “what are you doing here all alone? It’s dangerous!” she glares at me then turns to glare at our surroundings. She puts me down and I happily accept that. “What if you fell into the water? What if you got eaten by hungry wolves or something?” she stares me down and I squirm, keeping my eyes everywhere but her.

"It's fine though, he's still clearly alive," 

“But what if-?”

“ _ If _ he can survive then he will,  _ if  _ he can’t then he will die,” she points at me with one of her oversized sleeves, “his soul is still in that tiny body so I’d give that a plus,”

“You’re impossible to work with,” Adaleyna huffs.

“I’m just going off of what I’ve learnt while growing up,”

“You’ve had a sad childhood then,”

“It died young,”

“Jeez…”

Adaleyna shakes her head to herself, exasperated. She crouches down so we’re seeing eye to eye, “Look, just be more careful, okay?” 

I quickly and obediently nod.

“Where are the people who should be looking after you?”

I shrug.

“Let’s take you back to where you’re from, they’re probably worried about you,”

“I beg to differ,” Blue Jacket jumps in.   
“Just because you weren’t wanted, doesn’t mean everyone else is the same,” Adaleyna snaps. 

Blue Jacket doesn’t say anything.

She calmly rubs her fingers over the leaves of a bush near her. Hair falls in front of her eyes like curtains being pulled closed. Her jacket constantly threatens to fall over her hands while she moves. 

Adaleyna turns back to me and tries to pick me up. I push her hands away and mouth 'no', hoping that she's one of those people who can read lips, I'm quite unfortunate though. She does it again and I slap her as hard as I could with my 6-year-old strength. I move back, shaking my hand. Pain engulfs my hand like fire. Hot and burning. “It’s okay, we’re just-”

_ Woosh. _

Heat and light floods from the corner of my eye. We spin our heads to Blue Jacket. The bush is on fire and it’s slowly eating the plants around it. She continues to rub the burning leaves. Her figure glowing like she, herself, has been lit too.

“What are you-?!” Adaleyna shouts.

“...sorry,” Blue Jacket whispers. She steps back and swipes one arm through the air, the fire dying instantly. “You’re right… how stupid of me,” her words barely audible over the sound of the river’s yells. “The kid is from an orphanage nearby. Good luck with finding someone who cares,” she marches off like a robot.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to-” but she’s too far gone. “Let’s go home,” she reaches for my hand. I step away and run. Following the steps of Blue Jacket. “Come back!”

I sprint to wherever I hear a noise. The sound of footsteps and cracking sticks swiftly follow behind me. My head turns rapidly, trying to spot some blue among the green and brown whilst running from the predator chasing me.

“What are you doing?” a voice says from overhead. I look up and see Blue Jacket watching me from a branch. She gracefully jumps down and stands in front of me. “Where’s my sister?” Who-? Oh.

I shrug. I hear panting and heavy footsteps. Adaleyna stumbles into view.

“Can’t you look after a mere child?” Blue Jacket stares at her.

She leans forward and sputters out, “it’s so much harder when he refuses to listen and runs away!” she gazes down at me, “let’s go home,”

I cling onto Blue Jacket’s skirt and shake my head.

“You can see what he’s saying, are you really going to force a child to go somewhere,” she tilts her head like a curious puppy, her visible eye shining with amusement, “pretty sure that’s  _ kidnapping _ ,” she shifts her weight to one leg, “are you sure you want to be a kidnapper? That would make you a sin-”

“I get it, just stop already,” Adaleyna sighs heavily between breaths, “better idea;  _ you _ look after this child,”

“Wait-”

“Since  _ you _ clearly know how to,”

“I never said-”

“Thanks, Sis! And sorry for what I said!” 

“Hold on!” she stretches her hand as though she’s trying to will her to come back but Adaleyna has already left. “How did this happen?” she mutters to herself. I stare up at her, my hands still on her skirt. 

Her sleeve gently takes my hand and leads me through the forest. “Are you hungry?” she asks me, “there’s still time before dark,”

I swiftly nod and nearly trip over a big stick.

“Here,” she slowly picks me up. My head settles against her chest.

We reach the edge of the forest soon after. “What do you want to eat?” she questions while we wander down a street. People aimlessly move around, chattering to their phones or silently walking alone like a lone wisp. Houses pass by at a turtle’s pace. Soon street shops and restaurants pop up. “Cafe?” she stops and points at a sign, ‘ _ Tasty Coffee _ ’. 

I shake my head.

Next comes the expensive-looking restaurant, ‘ _ Delicioso _ ’.

I nod and we enter.

A white-haired male stands behind a bar. He looks familiar. He and Blue Jacket make eye contact. She abruptly spins around and opens the door to leave.

"So where to next?" we walk past a bubble tea store, ' _ Bubbly Fun _ '. "Oo! This is interesting. What do you say? Then we'll go to a restaurant to eat," 

I agree and we go in.

There's a menu on the side of the wall by the counter. She goes to it. "So many flavours," she mutters. "Point at the one you want and I'll order it."

I look at the bright menu. Words pop up from it, ' _ blueberry _ ', ' _ strawberry _ ', ' _ coconut _ ', ' _ original _ '. I move my finger around while finding something that might taste appetising. It lands on mango. Blue Jacket hums at my choice, "do you want it with other things?" she leans closer to it, "'cause it seems that you can get jelly and, uh, pearls,"

I shrug.

"What about both?"

I shrug again this time accompanied by a nod.

"Alrighty then,"

She puts me onto a seat by a table and goes off to order. "Two regulars, one mango and the other strawberry, both with the pearls and jelly," I hear her say.

I glance around the place. It's neat and tidy. A couple sits by the window, chatting and waiting. 

Soon, she comes back with the treat in hand. I reach for it and stare at the plastic covering the top. I turn and shake the cup but no entrance magically appears. She also moves hers around. She settles into her seat and places the drink in front of her. "So…" her eyes wander and land on the couple. They've gotten straws and stab them into the coverings. "Ah," she heads off again, this time arriving with straws. "Here," she hands one to me. I jab the top. Nothing happens. I try again, same story. I harshly dig the straw in and it eventually gives in. I take a victorious sip.

I look up and see her staring at me. My eyes shift between her and her untouched cup. Her head slowly angles down. She raises an arm. It swiftly goes down.

_ Crunch! _

The cup explodes and the tea flies everywhere. My mouth opens to let out a nonexistent scream. I slam my eyes shut before I feel the liquid splatter onto my face. “Oops,” she says. I wave my hands around, trying to find something to dry my face. “Don’t move,” I hear a chair scrape against the ground, a few seconds later, a paper-like material is softly rubbed against my face. I open my eyes to see her visible eye very close. Next, she dries my clothing as best as possible. 

“Is everything okay?” the counter person enters the scene and brings a mop and towel.

“Sorry,” she mutters to him.

After the mess is cleaned, she buys another one. This time, I’m given the straw to stab it. She sighs happily when I hand it to her. She gulps a few mouthfuls before thanking me. “Alright, let’s head to a restaurant,” she taps the table thoughtfully, “maybe we’ll go back, he shouldn’t be there anymore,” she mutters to herself.

_ Swish, slosh, swish. _

She swirls her drink around while I rigidly hold mine. Each step she takes, I have to take three. We stop in front of the restaurant again. She pushes the door open and pokes her head in… .

We now stand in front of a steakhouse. Hopefully, we’ll finally go in to eat. My drink has gone past halfway. I don’t want to drink anymore but I don’t want to waste it either, so I’m saving it for later. “Is this place okay?” she looks down at me, “I’ve never been to one of these before,”

I shuffle forward slightly.

“Alright then,” she tucks me along with her.

The sky is growing dark and cold. So when we enter, the warmth kindly embraces my form. People chatter and talk among themselves. Families and friends sit together. 

“Table for two,” Blue Jacket tells the waitress. She nods and rushes off. Blue Jacket stares at her shrinking form before gradually following her. The waitress taps her feet while waiting for us to reach her. Her 5-star employee of the month smile is slapped on when she spots us. “Thanks,” Blue Jacket plops down onto one and I sit opposite of her. She’s handed a menu and I’m given the kid’s menu.

Chicken nuggets, kid’s steak, calamari, mac and cheese are amid other things. “What do you want?” she asks while staring blankly at her menu. ‘ _ Includes ice cream with every kid’s meal! _ ’ I gaze at it.  _ Ice cream _ .  _ Iceee creammmm _ . My mouth waters at the thought of it. The cold blissfully entering my mouth then melting against my tongue. “Ice cream, okay, but you need to order something else,” I snap my head towards her, my imaginary ice cream dissolving into nothing while the blank loudness of the room floods in. I move my finger around. I turn the menu around and point at one. She nods, looks around and waves for someone.

I slurp more of my drink while a plate of steak is placed in front of me. “Oo, looks delicious,” she says as she stares at her own plate. My eyes move from hers to mine, that’s not fair! Mine is  _ tiny _ compared to hers! “Here,” she slices off a chuck like she's cutting soft butter and sets it onto my plate. "Let's dig in!" 

I grab the knife and try to cut the meat but it's like trying to saw wood with a pathetic plastic knife. She glances over her plate to me and jumps in. Slicing through cleanly. She carefully takes the knife from me and moves the fork closer. I cheerfully stab the cubes of steak and gobble them up. I almost cry in delight.

I've finished my drink and meal when the ice cream comes. It's vanilla flavoured and covered in chocolate syrup. I stare at it with stars in my eyes. I take a tiny bit and let it melt in my mouth. This is paradise! I scoop up a spoonful and soon none is left, to my disappointment. I scrape what I can of the melted treat but the joy is no longer there.

Blue Jacket watches while loudly slurping her drink. She waves the waitress over again. She orders something but I don't pay attention until the sound of a plate crashing into the table is heard. 

In front of me is a banana sliced in two with three scoops of ice cream -vanilla, chocolate and strawberry- in the middle and each has a perfect cherry glowing on top. Blue Jacket pushes the plate to me while digging into the plate herself. "Apparently, you can get stomach aches from eating too much so be careful," she warns. 

I nod haphazardly. Her words going through one ear then out the next.

When we finish, she stands to pay and leave. I take her hand, it dashes away before it slowly comes back and curls around mine. We exit the place and head down the street. “It’s home time,” she sighs. Her eye dashes to me before landing on the road ahead of us. “Do you want to go back?” she mutters quietly. 

I shake my head.

“Where can you go instead? I can’t take you,” she stops, I do too. Letting go of my hand, she crouches to my level. Her sleeve-covered hands hold onto my shoulders. She stares into my red eyes. “We don’t want you to end up like us…” she whispers. Her hands drop to her side and she stands up with another sigh. “We’ll find a way…” her voice is nearly carried away by the wind. Her sleeve wraps around my hand and we walk slowly to the orphanage.

I wish that it goes on for all eternity but it does not. We arrive home sooner than I want. I cling onto her sleeve when the door opens. I reach for her when the door shuts.

A caretaker approaches me, holding something behind her back, “where is your whiteboard?” 

Oh.

“You need to take care of it better,” she scolds, shoving the broken thing into my face. “Do you know how expensive it is to constantly buy you new ones, we could be spending the money to buy new toys but because of your own selfishness we cannot,”

I stare directly into her eyes. Kids are lining the hall, poking their heads from doorways and pretending to be invisible while they all watch me. I jab in the direction of one of them. 

“You  _ cannot _ blame others for  _ your _ mistakes!” she shouts.

I move my finger in the air at him.

“ _ No. _ ” She slams the board into my hand. Pain flares from it as I quickly retract it into my torso, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. Don’t cry,  _ don’t cry! _ “You will have extra chores and you’ll be doing Jacob’s chores too!”

My mouth falls open.

“Room, now! And no dinner for you too!”

I begin my march of shame, my cheeks burning red and my eyes glistening with tears. The pain takes hold of my thoughts. Wishes, dreams and hopes all turn violent as I wish, dream and hope for all these people to burn. Eyes watch my every move. Mouths whisper and laugh at my state. Jacob, my bully, my nightmare, my death, smirks in the corner, behind the caretaker’s back. Other caretakers usher kids to play while tutting at my ‘misbehaviour’. 

I want to scream at them, to tell them how wrong they are. I want to scream for help, so someone,  _ anyone _ , will finally take me from here. I want to scream into emptiness, to escape my suffering.

But I say nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick warning; there's child abuse in this

_ Splash! _

I jolt away to the feel of cold, wet water gushing down on me like a waterfall. I open my mouth to yelp at the sudden coldness. I look up while my clothes hug my form. The caretaker from last night is glaring at me.

“Up!” she screeches like an annoying crow, “you’re not having breakfast until you’ve done all your chores!”

I grumble internally and stare at her, still dripping in freezing water.

“Go,  _ now! _ ” she roughly pulls me off the bed and shoves me in the direction of the door. The kids in the bedroom with me stir slightly in their sleep. Light is barely shining through the gaps of the closed curtains. 

I turn to head to my tub of a closet but she yanks my arm away from it and drags me out of the room and down the hall. I try to struggle but her grip grows tighter.

The first task of the day; cleaning the toys room. I gather the toys and sort them neatly into boxes. The caretaker watches like a hawk watching its prey. When carrying toys, I would step on other ones that I can’t see or slip on cars, my mouth would open to scream in pain but nothing comes out. Either way, this creates a bigger mess for me that the caretaker only snorts at. I’m sore all over by the time I’m done. When I move away from the last box of toys, a broom is shoved into my hands. She stares with eyes of amusement, nothing like the pitch black ones of Blue Jacket’s. I mainly use the broom for support while I awkwardly sweep. The broom is for an adult, not someone of my structure. 

I hear kids whispering about an hour before wake up time. I stare hopefully at the clock that lies on the wall. I can barely understand all the numbers but soon it will be breakfast. “Hurry up!” the caretaker barks. 

I jump at her voice and hurriedly shove the broom around. I sweep all of it into a dustpan and pick that up and head to the bin.

“Good job,” she snarls with a smile though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Now here!” this time a mop is pushed into my arms. “Mop!” 

I quietly do so, my heart pounding fast, my breath speeding up. I want to collapse and never stand up. Hunger is buried in my thoughts. Food and breakfast make me power through and speed up. By the time I’m done. Kids are rolling out of bed and changing their clothes.

The caretaker inspects each part of the floor with a keen eye. When she finds nothing wrong, she leaves the room in a huff. I’m about to follow her but she blocks the door, a feather duster in hand. She smirks, “going so soon?”

My back slumps. 

I reach for the duster and heavily begin to dust. Kids are running through the corridors, trying to save a seat for their group of friends in the dining room. I repeatedly turn to look at the only exit of the room, only to constantly see the caretaker standing there, blocking it. I kick up some dust and sneeze as a result. From the corner of my view, I see the caretaker rolls her eyes. I wave my hand in front of my mouth to blow it away, when that doesn’t work, I cover my mouth and nose with my sleeve. It’s still damp though so it’s not very pleasant.

When that’s done, I’m  _ finally _ allowed out. I enter the dining room to see dirty tables and only the slow eaters sitting at tables, some alone while the lucky ones are accompanied by chirping friends. I head to the counter to pick up food, the cook gives me a tray of food though there is only a very small amount compared to every other day. I stare at him expectantly but he only shrugs in return, “should have come sooner,”

My mouth drops open.

“Oi, start eating! Then you’ll start Jacob’s task; cleaning these tables! That should teach you,” I turn to see the caretaker with her hands on her hips. 

I grumble internally, wishing death upon the two.

I stomp to the cleanest spot that I could find that’s far from others and sit. I eat what little I got and stand to leave. Hoping that the caretaker isn’t paying attention. Unfortunately, her eagle-like eyes are burning into my figure when I attempt to go. She storms over and drags me to a bucket full of soapy water and a sponge. 

I clean the tables, then sweep and mop the floors. “Because you tried to leave, you’ll be coming with me,” she says after leaving the kitchen. She hauls me inside. “You’ll be helping the cook by washing dishes,” the cook stands there, waiting for me to move.

I glare at the floor while I navigate through the kitchen to the sink. A chair has been placed for me. I carefully climb it, nearly tumbling to the ground with it.

The chef stands behind me, ordering me to do this then that. Constantly shouting for me to be careful. If something isn’t as clean as he wants it to be then he puts it back into the sink for me to do again. By the end, my hands are sore, burnt and numb. Stupid hot water! 

I heave my body through the kitchen and into the dining room. The day has barely started and I’m in pain all over. The caretaker stands there, talking with another one. She gives me a once over and grimaces. “Go change your clothes,” she shoves me a new whiteboard, “and do  _ not _ break this one!” she yells before pushing me out the room. I turn to look back and see the male caretaker have a hint of sympathy in his eyes. I glare at him and trek to my room.

Before I can make it halfway through the hall, Jacob and his posse appear. “You know, I quite enjoy not doing work,” he snarls. His friends stand around me, removing me from the view of others. He snatches my board from me, I reach for it but he’s too tall. I stamp on his foot though it hurts me more than him. He laughs at my feeble attempt and kicks me down with his shoe. I tumble back and climb onto my bare feet. With a snap, he breaks the board. He chucks it onto the ground and boots it into the wall. He rotates his shoulders while his gang cracks their necks and their knuckles. With a smirk, the beating begins.

_ Scream! Yell! Shout! _

_ Fight back! _

But I can’t. 

I can’t scream. I can’t yell. I can’t shout.

I can’t do anything.

I lay helplessly on the ground. I’m picked up roughly from the ground, “are you okay?” the male caretaker asks.

I shake my head.

He frowns at the injuries I have. “You haven’t changed clothes,” he looks around on the ground, “and the board is broken,” he sighs and places me onto the ground. “Hm. No dinner for you again,”  _ what? _ “And you’re not going to be allowed out unless it’s for school,”

I glare at him and shake my head in defiance.

He reaches for me but I slap his hand away. The pain is amplifying but I don’t care. I limb by myself to my room while holding onto the wall. I snarl at anything and anyone who comes by me.

I lay in bed for the rest of the day, ignoring everything. My stomach constantly growls in protest but I refuse to meet the eyes of the enemies.

When I roll out of bed, my stomach has given up on being hungry. I prepare for the day. Shoving my arms into my tight shirt while grumbling on the inside. My roommates have stopped talking to me, not like they tried much anyway. I push my legs into short long pants. I take a glance at some of the other boys and their shiny new clothing then look down at mine. 

I follow the boys to a table and sit while we wait for our table’s turn to stand and grab food. When I grab my food, I pick at it slightly. I don’t feel that hungry but, nonetheless, I shove it down my throat.

I follow the boys while they walk towards school. They talk loudly among themselves. My mouth remains close throughout the conversations. I shift my bag around and walk with my head down. From the corner of my eye, I see some kids from my school playing at a park.

After school, I wander around, checking behind every corner before rushing down it. I finally make it out without any more hassle. At the front gate, I look right. Bouncing on my heels. Then I look left and I adjust my bag straps on my shoulder. I was only lucky last time. This time, probably not so much.

So I turn left.

The sounds of cheerful laughter fill the air while I walk closer and closer to the park. I stare from across the road at the running children. Maybe… my eyes dart from the faces that are visible. No Jacob or his group. I glance left and right and cross the road.

I creep around the luscious bushes. Freezing every now and then when I hear hurried footsteps coming closer. I find a bench that's under a pretty tree. I drop my bag on it and stare at the sky. The sound of rushing water from the fountain is drowned out by the louder preschoolers.

A man in black holding a black umbrella approaches. He glances around the park, at those who are with family or friends. Then his eyes land on mine. He comes towards me and I wrap my arms around my bag, holding it in front of my chest. He crouches down to look up to my level, a hand on my knee. "Are you okay?" he asks softly. His black eyes bore into my soul. 

I nod and wiggle deeper into the bench. Hoping he would leave me alone. I’ve been kidnapped once, I don’t want to experience it again!

His hand keeps on me until I shift enough for it to be in the sun. When the sunlight kisses his hand, he retracts it back with a loud 'ow!' He moves it around to check its damage. My eyes widen. His eyes have gone from black to a familiar shade of ruby red. I point at his eyes then his mouth.

I'm going to die!

How do I shout for help?!

Nobody is going to find my bloodless body!

"I-it's okay!" he waves his one hand around. "It's not what it seems, I'm not going to hurt you!" I push my bag into his face and take off running.

Only to crash into a wall.

I glare at the wall only to see blue. Lots and lots of blue. My head angles up to see a face wrapped in blue and a black eye that watches in worry. "..." she crouches down and picks me up.

I scramble to grab her jacket and wave and point and soundlessly scream at the red-eyed man.

"Oh!" his eyes widen, now changed back to black. "It's you!" he approaches her with one arm out while the other still holds his cursed umbrella.

I bet he'll turn to dust if I kick it out of his hands.

"I thought you disappeared forever," he smiles widely, "but you're right here, little gem!" he finally reaches her with his arm. I swing my leg around trying to kick him in the face. He leans away from me.

"That's… lovely," she takes a big step away from him. I smirk at him. Can't eat your food now!

"Is he the kid that you're looking after? Adaleyna told me about him, but I thought that was a one time thing," he watches me. "Have you adopted him?"

"My family is not suited for a young child like him, or  _ any _ child, actually," Blue Jacket shifts from one leg to the other.

"Oh, right," he scratches the back of his head. "So, um," he spins around and picks up my bag, "here, this is his,"

"Okay," she grabs it from him. But when their hands touch, hers darts back while his linger there for a second longer. She swings the bag onto her shoulder.

"Is he hungry? Does he want food?" now it's the guy's turn to moving his weight from leg to leg.

I mime licking candy.

He watches with curious eyes. "Uh-" he stops when the realisation hits him," Oh! Lollipops! There's a sweets store nearby, let's go together!" 

I glare at him. I wasn’t talking to  _ him _ . And does he mean a shop or a  _ van _ ?

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," she mumbles. 

He begins leading the way while she hesitates for a second before following. She moves me from one arm to the other. Her eyes are void of all emotion and barely glances my way. It's either his back or the floor. The guy turns his head every now and then as if to make sure we haven't run away. Which we should have done starting  _ yesterday _ . Every two steps he takes, she takes one. It's to the point where he has to stop occasionally for her to catch up. He decides that this isn't going well and brings his unwanted self and umbrella to walk beside her.

"Is everything okay? You seem sad," he asks.

She thinks about his question "Hm…? I'm… fine," she mutters to herself like she's trying to convince  _ her _ and not  _ us _ . "I'm always fine. I can't be sad," 

"Why's that?" he slows his pace even more. 

"..." she shifts me to the other side of her, "is your brother here?"

"Which- uh, no, neither,"

"Wonderful!" her eyes brighten up like turning a lamp on in a dark room. She starts to skip and hum to herself, my bag jittering with every motion. I grip on tighter to her jacket. "It's so nice, I don't have to see that cold, annoying, jerkface of an ice block anywhere!"

"He's not that bad!" he has to run to catch up to her.

"That's because he likes you,"

"But he's just generally a nice guy,"

She stops. 

"Are we talking about the same guy?" she frowns, "Blue's nice but Icy-"

"I'm talking about him! About Icy!" he takes a deep breath and glares at the ground. "I just feel that you've never met the Icy that I have and that's why you always give him a hard time," he shuffles on the spot.

Her face drops. Her eyes become an icy blizzard. Her voice tattles on no emotions, "you've clearly never met the Icy that  _ I _ have," she starts at a slow pace. "Let's go."

He raises his head, "but-"

"Drop it." She growls.

He hangs his head as he follows along.

“It’s this way,” Red Eyes says, pointing to the opposite direction of where we’ve turned. I’ve finally realised who he is! Though I guess he’s now Black Eyes.

“Oh, uh,” Blue Jacket says lightly, shuffling back a bit and pulling my bag strap forwards slightly. “I know this might be a weird question, but where are you taking me?”

He stares at her. I stare at her. She stares at him.

“...To the sweets shop?”

“Okay!” she spins around and bounces in the direction he had pointed to. He jogs slightly to catch up. “What do you think they sell?” she looks down at me.

Uh, candy? I shrug my shoulders.

“Candy, that sounds about right,”

Red Eyes gaze between the two of us. “I can’t do that,” he simply states.

We soon reach a colourful store with big, bright words plastered on its windows. The door swings open with a small ting from a bell. Inside, more colours are spilled everywhere. The walls are lined with boxes filled with sweets ranging from licorice to chocolate.

“Get whatever you want,” she tells me while putting me down.

“That’s not a good idea…” Red Eyes watch her with disapproving eyes.

“It’s not?” she turns to him.

“There’s tooth decay and other bad things that can happen,”

“Tooth decay? I never knew of such things,” she crouches down to me. “Buy enough to not- uh- kill your teeth,”

He sighs from behind her. “You can only buy two types of candy and from those, only two scoops!” he orders with his hands on his hips.

“A scoop or two more and he wouldn’t mind,” she whispers to me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"I can hear you," he frowns from behind her.

"Have fun!" she pulls Red Eyes' arm to a different section of the store.

I wander around a bit. Which should I buy? Some of the boxes are too high for me to even look into, much less decide I want it.

"Are you lost?" a worker asks, she bends down slightly to stare into my eyes.

I shake my head.

"Where are your parents?"

My head shakes again and dashes around, hoping to see Blue Jacket somewhere.

The lady furrows her brows. "Do you have money? Or are you here to steal?" 

I shake my head once more.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to ask you to leave. Unless your parents are around-"

"He's with me," a female voice speaks up. 

Instead of relaxing, I tense up more. I agonisingly drag my body to turn around and face the evil caretaker.

She wears a smile of lies, "come on over here," she reaches her hand out. Her happiness says one thing but her intent tells a different, more gruesome, story.

I hide behind the worker and cling onto her shirt. And hang on tighter when the caretaker steps forward.

"Are you sure he's yours?"

I immediately shake my head.

"He's not saying anything against it, now is he?" her smirk widens ever so slightly.

"I suppose you're right,"

"He just  _ loves _ to misbehave,"

The worker pushes me to her, removing my grip from her. When I'm about to reach the caretaker's grubby hands-

"What's going on here?" Blue Jacket's voice breaks the stress I'm feeling. I rush from the lady to her. But the demon catches me before then. "Hey! Let him go!" she takes a threatening step towards the beast.

She receives a once over, "and who are  _ you _ supposed to be? Aren't you a bit too poor to spend money on junk like this?" the monster motions at the candy around us.

"I don't know, aren't  _ you  _ supposed to be friendly and, you know, actually taking care of the children under your supervision?" Blue Jacket steps closer and closer. Red Eyes appear on the scene, watching the drama, while the employee looks on like she wants to either intervene or be swallowed by a hole.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she snarls.

Blue Jacket laughs in response. Her shoulders shaking up and down while bringing my bag with them. She leans in close and whispers something into the caretaker’s ear.

The demon's eyes widen and she promptly flings my arm away. The worker glances around each person. The caretaker stomps away, slamming the door on her way out. The poor door.

She crouches down to me, “did you find any you like?”

“Um…” the lady shuffles slightly before excusing herself and immediately leaves the area.

“Are you alright?” Red Eyes leans forward with his hands on his knees.

“Uh, yeah, that question,” Blue Jacket looks up at him then back over to me.

I shrug and move a few steps away to point at the tallest level of boxes while my other hand goes from the top of my head to the wall of treats.

“Okay, come over here,” she drags Red Eyes to me. She picks me up and turns me and places me onto Red Eyes’ shoulders. One leg on each side of his head. “See, you’re tall now!” she giggles. “It’s really fun being tall,”

“Is this safe?” he questions, holding onto my stubby legs awkwardly. I swing them while his hands move with them.

“It’s fineee,” she shrugs with a smile, “I do it all the time! Luci doesn’t mind too much!” 

“But you’re not a child-”

“Come onnnn, let’s go!!” she pulls us around the store.

In the end, I eye the few sweet rainbow straps and a few scoops full of cola bottle candies while they're being measured. Then wander to the mountain of candy that she has picked for herself, they range from different flavours of licorice to a box of fairy floss. Red Eyes has chosen a few sweets, most are strawberry flavoured. 

She bounces out of the store, holding onto all the bags while I stay sitting on Red Eyes' shoulders. He laughs to himself at the sight of her, "your dentist is going to have a field day," 

"A-a what?" she stops jumping to frown at him.

He waves his hand, “don’t worry,” he stares down at the bags, “do you think they’ll let him have these?”

She looks at them too, “probably not.” She hands me one of the straps and I begin to chow down on it.

“Please don’t make my hair sticky,”

“Oo! Make his hair sticky!”

He laughs and shakes his head.

“How about we go eat dinner? You can eat your food while we’re still out,”

I rapidly nod, already imagining the punishments I will be given.

“Dinner here we come!”


	5. Chapter 5

I rush through bushes. I jump over exposed roots. I push leaves out of the way. Soon I hear the sound of gushing water. I quicken my pace. Nearly there, nearly there. Sunlight floods into my line of sight as I wrestle past the final bushes to reach a clearing. 

I calm my hasting breath and look around. Blue Jacket - Ophelia - sits leaning against a tree near me. I walk towards her. Her eye is closed and her posture is relaxed. It flutters open as I approach. I smile at her, waving. Her bottom eyelid raises slightly. She opens her arms and I plop myself onto her lap, snuggling close.

We sit in silence, the only sound coming from the river nearby. The same one where I met her the second time. 

I think back to what the cops had said when they interrupted class to pull me out. They have all but given up at this point. A case turned cold. It's been nearly three years since and life has not improved. At least, life in the orphanage hasn't. 

But that doesn't matter, not now at least. I'm currently free, even though temporarily, from the chains that bound me. I sit comfortably within my safe space.

We've been meeting each other for a while now. It started as nearly every day to once a week then fortnight and now once a month. When will she leave forever? I huddle closer to her, gripping her jacket with an iron hand. She always says that she's too busy but never another word more.

How long have we known each other? It's closing in on my birthday where I turn seven. I wonder what we're going to do for my birthday. I have snippets of memory where I had a birthday party made by my parents. That was before they found out about the sand fiasco. I glance at her face, what does she think of it? I won't do anything bad, I'm sure I won't. But does she hate me? Is this why she sees me less and less?

"What do you want to eat, little one?" she asks after a bit of time has passed. 

I sign to her,  _ ice cream _ . I've learnt little by little, mainly about food. The library holds countless books and I was lucky enough to stumble onto a signing book. She's been accompanying me on my learning journey.

“Sounds nice,” she begins to stand up and stops for a moment, “do you want to go to… what do they call it? Movings?”

The what?

“It’s like they show moving people and stuff on a screen thing that’s not really a screen,” she gestures with her hands. They’re facing each other and she moves them apart like I’m supposed to magically understand what she’s saying. “Like- like those- those, ahh… visions! Something visions,” she drops her hands to her side, “I’ll just take you there. Then we'll get ice cream” She takes my hand and we head off.

_ The movings _ . 

I stare blankly at the building in front of me. I stare blankly while she goes to order popcorn. And continue to do so when I sit in front of a large screen that is currently showing advertisements.

_ The movings.  _

I eye the corner of my vision and see her happily chowing down on the popcorn like a child given full permission to eat whatever they want in a candy store. At the rate she's going, there won't be any for me!

I spin to the side and hastily grab a fistful before shoving it down my mouth. She stares at me weirdly, shrugs to herself and then goes back to eating. 

Unsurprisingly, we run out soon after, right before the movie starts. “Stay here, I’m going to go get more,” she stands and leaves.

The theatre darkens a few seconds later. I can barely see her figure run up the stairs. I focus on the movie. 

Br…

I wrap my arms around myself and pull my sleeves over my hands. I rock myself slightly and glance at the empty spot next to me. I’ve now realised how cold it is. My clothes are fighting a war against the cold, and they’re losing. I curl into a ball and try to ignore everything but the movie.

A jacket is placed on me. It’s hard to tell between the dark and bright flashing colours, but I think it’s blue. A box of warm popcorn is placed onto my lap, the armrest is pulled up so Ophelia could scoot closer. She places a frozen drink in the hole of the armrest on the other side of me and one into the spot next to her. She then struggles to open an ice cream. I reach for it and she hands it to me with a sigh.

I snuggle closer to her torso, her arm hovers above my head and lingers there before it wraps around me. She continues to steal popcorn, halfway through the movie and it’s empty again. 

I jump around while holding onto her arm, still buried in her jacket, which is touching the floor. Ophelia laughs in response. She then swings our arms. “Do you still want ice cream?” 

I shake my head.

“Do you want to go home?”

I stare at her.

“How about we go play in the park?"

I rapidly nod at the idea.

"Great!" her arms swoop down to pick me up.

“You know, I never caught your name,” her words are pushed into my ear through the wind while she moves through the air. I’m right next to her though I can’t swing as high. Her eyes watch me expectantly.

I shrug, not knowing how to say it.

“Should I guess?”

I shrug again.

“Maybe you can write it down,”

I stare into the distance with the swing slowly stopping. I clutch onto the chains harder and force the swing to go higher.

“...” she sits still on her seat. “How about I give you a new one?” 

I turn my head to her, watching curiously.

She laughs, “it’s normal to not like your name. I…” she stops herself. She watches the ground for a bit then her head snaps to me. “Anyways! How about uh… John?”

I shake my head.

“Dave?”

No.

“Jacob!”

Definite no.

“Chris?”

I shake my head once more.

“Um… I don’t know anymore,” she fiddles with the blue part of her hair. She stares deeply into my eyes, “I got it! Red, how about that?”

I stare at her.  _ Red _ . I finally nod, assuming that that is the best she could come up with.

Red. My name is Red.


	6. Chapter 6

Run. Run! Run!!

It’s so hard to breathe. 

Go quicker. 

Run faster! 

Faster!

“Get back here!” a male voice yells. 

Footsteps follow.

Closer. Closer.

Ark! 

Wind rushes towards me, knocking me forward. 

Pain flares through my body. 

I stumble up from the ground. 

So, so hard to breathe!

But I can’t stop.

Need to go. 

Go. Now!

I run into a parking lot. 

Cars. Hide.

“Where did he go?!” another voice shouts.

“Split up!” the first voice orders. 

Footsteps scatter about. 

Where to go?

Where to go!?

I look at the looming building attached to the lot.

Maybe there.

I can see people chatting there.

Peaceful.

I glance around.

I use the last of my adrenaline.

Powering through to the door.

Closer. Closer.

The door opens.

“There!”

The door shuts.

Breathe. Breathe.

A man watches me weirdly. I rub the mud off my face and the rest of my body. I point at the door. Through the door, I can see them coming. I frantically point at them. But the man doesn’t understand.

I swing the next door open. Now I’m in the dining area. Chatter and music swim around the air. “Hey!” the man pulls the door ajar and reaches for me. 

I run.

Though I’m not sure where.

I reach a table with five people sitting there. White, black, blue and red. I stare into a white-haired lady, blue and white eyes. “You’re not allowed-!?” I turn and see the doorman being pushed by the gang. 

Hide.

I climb onto the lady’s lap. “Huh?” she glares down at me.

“Oo! So adorable!” a lady with red hair squeals. She leans down to me.

“Act normally,” one of the men tells them. He eyes behind the two, at the entrance. 

“Where is that little brat!?” 

I curl up closer.

“Is it me or is he really familiar?” red-hair stares me down.

I lean away from her orange and yellow eyes.

“Has anyone seen a white-haired boy!?”

People begin muttering and looking around. Most landing on the white-haired boy in front of me.

“With red eyes!”

I shut my eyes and bury my face into the lady’s sweater.

“Leave this place!” another voice begins to yell.

“Shut up!” a few crashes come after.

This isn’t supposed to happen.

No, not at all!

I cling onto the lady harder. 

She shifts and pushes me away slightly.

Stomp. Crash! Scream.

I glance at the gang from behind my shield.

They spin and spin. 

With snarls on their faces.

Their eyes dash around.

Hate. Anger. Frustration.

I really should be more careful when running around in the forest.

I was supposed to meet Ophelia again in the forest. But I stumbled onto a group of thugs doing super bad stuff. It’s not like I can snitch on them! But they chased me anyway!

Now I’m here. 

Maybe she’ll come.

Maybe she’s safe.

Maybe she’s de-

She’s alive. Living. Not dead!

The door swings open again.

My eyes first settle on a leg then a jacket and then a scarf.

A  _ blue _ jacket.

I push away from the lady. She screams a quick, “hey!”

I run.

Run. Run. Run.

Nearly there.

From the corner of my eye, I see a blast of purple. Heat follows after. 

Then it’s gone.

I can only see blue. My feet no longer touch the ground and blue sleeves wrap around my figure. I bury myself in her jacket. It’s nice here. I’m safe now. The gang glares at me like the hot sun rays. But Ophelia is between me and them.

“You-!”

“Halt!” more people come bursting in. They are covered in dark blue. Different objects point at the mob, they range from regular guns to tasers made of lightning.

While they are being arrested and escorted out. Ophelia moves to the table that I was at before. “Uh, hey,” she greets, “thanks for looking after Red for me,”

“Ophelia?!” the black-haired male shouts, jumping out of his seat. His blue eyes light up.

“Oh… hey…” her eyes squint a bit at the group, “you guys,”

“You didn’t forget about us, did you?!” he hits the table while all the other people eye the girl.

“No, I remember”

“Then you must also remember that you left us all of a sudden!”

“Didn’t I tell you? My vacation was over,”

“Your- that doesn’t make any sense!” he throws his hands into the air in exasperation. Now other people are beginning to watch.

“You look different,” the white-haired lady leans forward slightly and asks, “what happened to the white specks?”

“Oh, uh, Icy happened,” Ophelia mutters. “Anyways! Let’s go, we have food to eat!” she turns and rushes away, with me in her arms. “Bye, you guys! Nice to see you again!” They stare at each other and then back at her.

We wander around the aisle of food piled up on food. She places me down gently and follows what everyone else is doing. She grabs a plate and puts some noodles onto it. “What do you want?” she asks. 

I tippy-toe around the places, holding onto the counter to glimpse at the food around. I manage to point at some fried rice.

“Alright,” she hands me her current plate and scoops up some rice onto a plate. “How about these?” she indicates to some prawn crackers.

I nod and they go on too.

We swap plates and continue to pile on food until it looks like a mountain. Then we sit at a table, far from her friends.

“So…” I glance up from my food. Her eyes travel down my figure. “Here,” my clothes basically shatter and fall to the ground, in its place are clean clothes that  _ actually  _ fit. My former, now-glass-like clothes disappear into nothingness. “You don’t really live a good life here, do you?”

No kidding.

She plays with her food. “Um,” she picks up a napkin and cleans the mud from my face. “I know of a safer place,” she mumbles, “it’s with a friend.”

I lean forward to hear what she’s saying. 

“I’ve already talked to him, but…” she whispers the rest.

_ Say it again _ , I sign. I stand on my seat and bend into her voice, hands resting on the table.

“Oh, um, I-I’ve already talked to him, but um- you probably won’t be able to speak with him,” I can barely hear her despite being a few centimetres away from her covered mouth. “Is that okay…?”

I stare at her then think for a bit. I nod rapidly. Anything is better. The table rocks slightly. I shift back into my seat.  _ Why no words? _ That’s the best I can do.

“Because of his…” she waves a sleeve around the top half of her face and says no more.

  
  


We continue to eat. She leaves a few times only to come back with a mound of food stacked onto a plate. I refill my plate once before feeling like an overstuffed turkey.

Wiping her mouth on a napkin, she looks at me. "I saw an ice cream dispenser, you want some?" 

I rapidly nod my head. I jump out of my seat and run around looking for the machine. She slowly follows behind. 

"There," she points at a dull, oversized machine by a wall. We hurry over, or rather  _ I  _ hurried over. She's as slow as a sloth. By the time she's grabbing two bowls, I'm there spinning around and dancing on the spot. "What flavour do you want?" her hand hovers over a bottle of strawberry sauce. 

Hm… chocolate, strawberry and blueberry. I point to the chocolaty goodness. 

"Okay," she squirts some sauce onto hers and some chocolate onto mine. We return to the table and gobble down the sweet. Yum!

We walk out while the sun is setting over the horizon. I hold onto her sleeve while walking with a skip in my steps. When we go closer to the orphanage, I begin to slow down to a shuffle. Her eye watches me from above. We reach the gate soon after. She crouches down to my level, with a hand on my head, she says, “I’ll meet you in the usual spot tomorrow, yeah? Just don’t get into trouble again,” her eye crinkles at the side. I pull her in for a hug. She stiffens and doesn’t hug back. Slowly, ever so slowly, her arms wrap around my small figure. 

Waving goodbye at her, the door closes behind me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book is going to be on a hiatus now, bye for now!


End file.
